It was in January that the Valencian left-wing party, Compromís, repeated a criticism made by another entity that the Guardia Civil uses fascist symbols.
It was the Foro por la Memoria de Guadalajara first denounced this corps for using “simbología franquista” as their insignia. Specifically they were referring to the fasces lictoriae bundle of rods together with an axe that the Guardia Civil has used since 1943; i.e., four years after the end of the Spanish Civil War and the establishment of the Franco regime.
When the Guardia Civil were first formed they used the letters ‘C’ and ‘G’ entwined, beneath a crown, as an insignia for the corps. However in 1943 the Ministerio del Ejército under Franco’s military regime, changed most Army emblems, including the Guardia Civil to its present-day form.
The image is originally a Roman one and has survived in the modern world as a representation of magisterial or collective power, law, and governance. The fasces frequently occurs as a charge in heraldry: it is present on the reverse of the U.S. Mercury dime coin and behind the podium in the United States House of Representatives; and it was the origin of the name of the National Fascist Party in Italy (from which the term fascism is derived). Therefore, the symbol predates Franco.
Compromis, which forms part of an informal coalition backing for the Pedro Sánchez administration, posed the question before the Parliament: “Does the Government intend to readopt the original insignia (C & G) for the Guardia Civil, thus eliminate the symbol imposed by the dictatorship'”
The reply was not immediately forthcoming but the Executive pointed out that this symbol is a Republic of Rome one, which represents authority and has not emerged from Francoism. They went further to point out that Lictors were public functionaries who each carried fasces before a magistrate as a symbol of the magistrate’s power.
Finally, the Government emphasised that this symbol has an inclined sword on its right side symbolising “the submission of force to the service of legally constituted authority.” The Government Spokesperson also said that the emblem has a crown representing the Kingdom of Spain and that furthermore the fasces lictoriae is also present in the Supreme Court and in the majority of Spanish Law Courts, all of which predates Franco’s regime.
Compromis took this as a negative to their question; i.e., eliminate fascist symbols.
Editorial comment: the Lincoln Memorial has President Lincoln holding a fasces lictoriae in his arms, symbolising the authority of the Republic. It is also in the centre of the French national shield.
(News: Spain)